U ILLINOI S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
PRODUCTION NOTE
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.
Population status of the Illinois chorus frog
(Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis)
in Madison County, Illinois: Results of 2001 surveys
IDOT CONTRACT 1-5-90179
FINAL REPORT ON 2001 RESULTS
John K. Tucker
Center for Aquatic Ecology
Illinois Natural History Survey
Great Rivers Field Station
8450 Montclaire Avenue
Brighton, Illinois 62012
January 2002
I J. K. Tucker
Principal Investigator
Center for Aquatic Ecology
Illinois Natural History Survey
DISCLAIMER
The findings, conclusions, and views expressed herein are those of the researchers and should not be considered as the official position of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SUPPORT
This research (contract number 1-5-90179) was funded by the
Illinois Department of Transportation.
ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A study of the biology of the Illinois chorus frog, Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis, is reported. Surveys of Madison County for choruses of the frogs located nine choruses in 2001. Eight of these choruses were located at the same sites that choruses were found in
2000. One new site was found where frogs were calling in 2001. The bulk of the study was conducted using drift fences at the wetland mitigation area adjacent to Sand Road in Sec. 19, T4N, R8W. The primary purpose of the 2001 study was to examine spatial variation in use of the mitigation area by the Illinois chorus frog and to estimate population size and density at the mitigation area. I estimated population size using recaptures of frogs previously marked. Lincoln-Petersen index estimate of population size based on recaptures of previously marked frogs was about 70 frogs for both sexes. This estimate is about one- sixth of the 1999 estimate possibly due to unfavorable recruitment in
2000. The apparent reduction in frog numbers was not due to activities associated with wetland restoration. However, had the wetland project not been completed the frog populations may have been even more adversely impacted by the drying of the wetland area. I found the first evidence of surface activity among adult frogs outside of the breeding season. A single frog was collected in September of 1998 suggesting that monitoring of drift fences year-round is important.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title and Signature page
DISCLAIMER ...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SUPPORT...... ,....,.. S..ii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... ,...... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... °,, S.iv
LIST OF TABLES...... ° S... v
LIST OF FIGURES ...... ,•, ..vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... •...... vii
INTRODUCTION......
CHORUS LOCATIONS IN THE SAND ROAD STUDY AREA ...... 2
Materials and Methods ...... •o.•... ..2
Results and Discussion...... °•., . .2
POPULATION SIZE ESTIMATES...... , .. 4
Materials and Methods ...... •...... 4
Results and Discussion...... ,....
SUMMARY ...... ,... . .6
LITERATURE CITED ...... 7
iv LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: All Illinois chorus frogs collected between 1996 and 2001.....5 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Sand Road study area showing the location of the wetland mitigation area and known choruses of the Illinois chorus frog
(Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis)...... 3
vi Figure 1
Scale = 0.8 km North
Levee road
Rose historical site
-1 Wanda Rd trailer park 1 Old Poag Road krea enlarged (10CU Streetcar Road CO, Sand prairie chorus (U) below SandRoad - I
Hartzell Rd
Greenhouse p-- Sand Road > ! _i ______
Chain of Rocks Road ------
North t =Chorus
Sand Streetcar Road Road Morris historical site Trailer park Brockmeier chorus Site colonized Greenhous e in 2001 Greenh. < -Hartzell Rd Mitigation area -!j
Sand Idle Acres chorus Road
Scale = 0.8 km ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank G. B. Rose, M. M. Tucker, and D. Warner for field
assistance. L. E. Brown provided many useful suggestions concerning the biology of the frog and helped with literature needs. G. E. Kruse provided permits necessary for this project.
vii INTRODUCTION
The Illinois chorus frog, Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis, is restricted to the floodplains of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers in
Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri (Conant and Collins, 1991). The frog is listed as a threatened species in Illinois (Herkert, 1992), as a rare species in Missouri (Anonymous, 1992), as a species of special concern in Arkansas (R. Roberg, pers. comm.), and as federal C-2 species (Dodd et al., 1985).
This highly fossorial frog occurs in Illinois mainly along the central part of the Illinois River (Smith, 1951, 1961, 1966; Morris and
Smith, 1981; Taubert et al., 1982; Brown and Rose, 1988; Morris, 1990;
Beltz, 1991 and 1993). Other populations are, also, scattered along the
Mississippi River from Madison to Alexander Counties, Illinois (Holman et al., 1964; Brown and Brown, 1973; Axtell and Haskell, 1977; Morris and Smith, 1981; Taubert et al., 1982; Gilbert, 1986; Brown and Rose,
1988; Morris, 1990; Beltz, 1991 and 1993; Tucker and Philipp, 1993;
1994; 1995; 1996).
Several previous publications and unpublished reports provide details on the life history of P. s. illinoensis including information on underground feeding behavior (Brown, 1978), burrowing behavior
(Axtell and Haskell, 1977; Brown et al., 1972; Tucker et al., 1995;
Tucker, 1995), chorus sites (Brown and Rose, 1988; Tucker, 1998), fecundity (Butterfield et al., 1989; Tucker and Philipp, 1995; Tucker,
1997a), post-metamorphic growth (Tucker, 1995; Tucker and Philipp,
1995), morphology of newly transformed froglets (Tucker, 1997b); food habits (Tucker, 1997c), thermobiology (Packard et al.. 1998), and morphological adaptations to fossorial existence (Brown and Means, 1984;
Paukstis and Brown, 1987 and 1991). The present report is a summary of
results for 2001 and a continuation of studies initiated in 1993.
This year's activities carried forward objectives from previous
years and include an analysis of the impact of the wetland mitigation
area. My objectives were:
1. Monitor the distribution of P. s. illinoensis choruses in
appropriate habitat in the impact area.
2. Estimate the approximate number of P. s. illinoensis located on the
wetland mitigation area.
CHORUS LOCATIONS IN THE SAND ROAD STUDY AREA
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Monitoring of chorus locations in the Sand Road study area (Fig. 1)
began on February 16, 2001. The methods used and sites visited were
reviewed in previous reports (i.e., Tucker and Philipp, 1996).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In 2001, a total of nine choruses were located (Fig. 1). Eight of these
locations were sites of choruses in previous years. One new chorus site
was found in 2001 (Fig. 1). Figure 1. Sand Road study area showing the location of the wetland mitigation area and known choruses of the Illinois chorus frog
(Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) in Madison County, Illinois. Figure 1
Scale = 0.8 km North
Levee road • ee\ Rose historical site ,A
SWanda Rd trailer park -ci Old Poag Road Area enlarge e d ct~ Sand praiirie chorus I Streetcar Road (I) _ _ _ __ below SandRoad ---
<- .----- Hartzell Rd
Greenhouse
Sand Road I / I I Chain of Rocks Road'
North = Chorus
Sand Streetcar Road Road Morris historical site ,A. Trailer park - - Brockmeier chorus
Site colonized -i __Genu in 2001 Greenhouse '-Hartzell Rd Mitigation area
Sand Idle Acres chorus Road AD
Scale = 0.8 km Generally, chorus sites have been stable in the general study area from 1994-2000 with no indication of recolonization of distant sites where this species is thought to have been extirpated (Tucker and
Philipp, 1995; Tucker, 1998). This year's results marked a departure from previous years results with the discovery of a new chorus site.
This site occupies a borrow pit created in 1997-1998. The borrow pit is located just south of Streetcar Road and just north of the wetland mitigation site. Likely frogs that colonized this site came from the wetland mitigation area.
POPULATION SIZE ESTIMATES
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Population size estimate was made using the Petersen method as modified by Bailey (1951) for estimates of population size when number of recaptures were small (Donnelly and Guyer, 1994). Standard error of was not calculated due to the small number of captures in 2000 and 2001.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Petersen estimate of population size was 70 total frogs based on recaptures of previously marked frogs (Table 1). The 2001 estimate was only one-sixth of the estimate made in 1997 of about 455 adults (the highest population recorded). Apparently, unfavorable rainfall in the summer and fall of 2000 reduced recruitment in this species.
This conclusion is supported by the few captures made in 2000 and
2001 compared to previous years (Table 1). Nonetheless, the number of frogs cought in 2001 was 6 times higher than the few frogs caught in
2000. This suggests that recruitment from year to year is important in maintaining populations sizes (Tucker, 1995; 1998). Table 1. Number of Illinois chorus frogs caught from 1996 to 2001.
Total number
Year of frogs males females
1996 60 31 29
1997 86 47 39
1998 22 13 9
1999 151 78 73
2000 2 0 2
2001 12 5 7 Summary
The restored wetland actually became available for the frogs to use in
1998. Coincidentally, 1997 was a severe drought year and the number of
frogs caught in the following year (1998) was reduced by one-quarter in that compared to previous years. Despite this reduction, captures in
1999 were the highest ever made. These capture rates are not affected by collecting effort because the same drift fences have been used in all years of the study since 1996.
The 2000 year represents the lowest capture rate for any year of the study at the wetland mitigation area. Despite this extremely low capture rate, some frogs were added to the population. Although 2000 was an extremely dry spring, the wetland retained water throughout the breeding season. The few frogs that did breed in 2000 were able to add to the number caught in 2001.
The question that remains to be determined is "how successful is the wetland mitigation project in maintaining the Illinois chorus frog
in Madison County?". This question cannot be fully answered at this time. However, frogs survived the driest spring recorded to date in
2000 and added some frogs in 2001. Moreover, and probably more
important, a new chorus location was recorded in 2001. Sufficient
froglets must have been produced in 1999 and even in the drought year
2000 to colonize this new chorus. Thus early indications are that the
wetland project is accomplishing the goals set for it so far as the
population status of the Illinois chorus frog is concerned. LITERATURE CITED
Anonymous. 1992. Rare and endangered species of Missouri Checklist.
Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City. 43 pp.
Axtell, R. W. and N. Haskell. 1977. An interhiatal population of
Pseudacris streckeri from Illinois, with an assessment of its
postglacial history. Chicago Acad. Sci. Nat. Hist. Misc. 202:1-8.
Bailey, N. T. J. 1951. On estimating the size of mobile populations from
recapture data. Biometrica 38:293-306.
Beltz, E. 1991. Illinois chorus frog, Pseudacris streckeri
illinoensis, 1991 survey of Cass, Menard, Morgan, and Scott
Counites, Illinois. Unpublished report to Illinois Dept.
Conservation, Division of Natural Heritage, Springfield, Illinois.
18 pp.
Beltz, E. 1993. Distribution and status of the Illinois chorus frog,
Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis, in Cass, Menard, Morgan, and
Scott Counties of west-central Illinois. Unpublished report to
Illinois Dept. Conservation, Division of Natural Heritage,
Springfield, Illinois. 17 pp.
Brown, L. E. 1978. Subterranean feeding by the chorus frog Pseudacris
streckeri (Anura: Hylidae). Herpetologica 34:212-216.
Brown, L. E. and J. R. Brown. 1973. Notes on breeding choruses of two
anurans (Scaphiopus holbrooki, Pseudacris streckeri) in southern
Illinois. Chicago Acad. Sci. Nat. Hist. Misc. 192:1-3.
Brown, L. E., H. O. Jackson, and J. R. Brown. 1972. Burrowing behavior
of the chorus frog, Pseudacris streckeri. Herpetologica 28:325-
328. Brown, L. E., and D. B. Means. 1984. Fossorial behavior and ecology of
the chorus frog Pseudacris ornata. Amphibia-Reptilia 5:261-273.
Brown, L. E. and G. B. Rose. 1988. Distribution, habitat, and calling
season of the Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri
illinoensis) along the lower Illinois River. Ill. Nat. Hist.
Surv. Biol. Notes 132:1-13.
Butterfield, B. P., W. E. Meshaka, and S. E. Trauth. 1989. Fecundity
and egg mass size of the Illinois chorus frog, Pseudacris
streckeri illinoensis (Hylidae), from northeastern Arkansas.
Southwest. Nat. 34:556-557.
Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and
Amphibians [of] Eastern and Central North America, Third edition.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 450 pp.
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Williams. 1985. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants;
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(eds.), Measuring and monitoring biological diversity standard
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Gilbert, H. R. 1986. Geographic distribution: Pseudacris streckeri
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Species Protection Board, Springfield. 142 pp.
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Herpetologica 20:205.
Morris, M. A. 1990. Ranges of amphibians and reptiles, pp. 52-77 in R.
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Packard, G. C., J. K. Tucker, and L. D. Lohmiller. 1998. Distribution
of Strecker's chorus frogs (Pseudacris streckeri) in relation to
their tolerance for freezing. Journal of Herpetology 32:437-440.
Paukstis, G. L., and L. E. Brown. 1987. Evolution of the intercalary
cartilage in chorus frogs, genus Pseudacris (Salientia: Hylidae).
Brimleyana 13:55-61.
Paukstis, G. L., and L. E. Brown. 1991. Evolutionary trends in the
morphology of the intercalary phalanx of anuran amphibians. Can.
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Smith, P. W. 1951. A new frog and a new turtle from the western
Illinois sand prairies. Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci. 9:189-199. Smith, P. W. 1961. The amphibians and reptiles of Illinois. Ill. Nat.
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Smith, P. W. 1966. Pseudacris streckeri. Cat. Am. Amphibians Reptiles
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Breeding biology and distribution of the Illinois chorus frog
(Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) in Illinois. Illinois Dept. of
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Tucker, J. K. 1995. Early post-transformational growth in the Illinois
chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis). J. Herpetol.
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Tucker, J. K. 1997a. Fecundity in the Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris
streckeri illinoensis) from Madison County, Illinois. Trans.
Illinois Acad. Sci. 90:167-170.
Tucker, J. K. 1997b. Description of newly transformed froglets of the
Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis). Trans.
Illinois Acad. Sci. 90:161-166.
Tucker, J. K. 1997c. Food habits of the fossorial frog Pseudacris
streckeri illinoensis. Herpetol. Nat. Hist. 2:83-87.
Tucker, J. K. 1998. Status of the Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris
streckeri illinoensis) in Madison County, Illinois pp. 94-101 In
M. J. Lannoo (ed.), Status and Conservation of Midwestern
Amphibians, University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.
Tucker, J. K., and D. P. Philipp. 1993. Population status of the
Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) in Madison
County, Illinois, with emphasis on the New Poag Road/FAP 413
10 interchange and FAP 413 wetland mitigation site. Unpublished
report to Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield,
Illinois. 31 pp.
Tucker, J. K., and D. P. Philipp. 1994. Population status of the
Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) in Madison
County, Illinois: Results of 1994 surveys. Unpublished report to
Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, Illinois. 69
pp.
Tucker, J. K., and D. P. Philipp. 1995. Population status of the
Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) in Madison
County, Illinois: Results of 1995 surveys. Unpublished report to
Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, Illinois. 12
pp.
Tucker, J. K., and D. P. Philipp. 1996. Population status of the
Illinois chorus frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) in Madison
County, Illinois: Results of 1996 surveys. Unpublished report to
Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, Illinois. 45
pp.
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